Ok, first off I apologise for how long this has taken, if I’d known just how epic an undertaking developing a key to the Region’s stringybarks was I’d never have attempted it, and secondly apologies for the lack of pics, that will be an even more epic task getting enough of them.
I’ve modified things from the usual dichotomous keys and have broken them down into smallish groups which you can read through and find the closest fit. I’ve also added the areas where they’ve been found in the region to help narrow things down a bit.
I start from fairly easily distinguished features (does the bark go all the way up the trunk or not) to finer and finer detail.
We’re starting off with the full barks with adult leaves more or less the same colour on both sides. Oh, and there’s bound to be a few mistakes (there’s a few repeats as well because some fit into a couple of categories).
Simplified Key
Full Barks
- Bark medium to long fibres to smaller branches,
- adult leaves concolorous (same colour both sides),
- fruit and buds sessile,
- juvenile leaves with stiff hairs (hispid).
Trees or mallees generally to 10 metres
Eucalyptus camfieldii Camfield’s Stringybark
Tree or mallee to 10m, juvenile leaves alternate, orbiculate, cordate, glossy green, adult leaves broad lanceolate 7-10cm x 2-3cm, glossy green. Inflorescences 11 or more, peduncle terete or angular, 5-10mm long, fruits hemispherical or flattened, 6-9mm dia, disc raised, valves exserted at tips. Coastal south from Port Stephens
Eucalyptus sparsifolia Narrow-leaved Stringybark
Small to medium tree or mallee to 20m (4-12m in Mudgee area), juvenile leaves broad lanceolate, glossy, adult leaves narrow lanceolate to lanceolate, 8-12cm x 1-2cm, glossy, peduncle narrowly flattened or angular, 11 or more flowers, sessile or shortly pedicellate fruits globose, slightly flattened, 5-8mm long x 5-8mm wide. On shallow sandy soils, generally south from Hunter River to Scone and Aberdeen
Trees over 15 metres
Inflorescences 7 or more flowered
Eucalyptus blaxlandii Blaxland’s Stringybark
Tree 15-30m, upper limbs smooth whitish or rough throughout, juvenile leaves discolorous, shortly petiolate, opposite for a few pairs then alternate, ovate to 10 x 5cm, adult leaves glossy green both sides, broad lanceolate, oblique, to 12 x 2.5cm, buds umbels of 7 or more, sometimes warty to 8mm x 4mm, rounded operculum, fruits sessile, rounded 7 x 10mm, valves exserted. South from Cox’s Gap (Bylong)
Eucalyptus capitellata Brown Stringybark
Tree to 20m, juvenile leaves broad lanceolate, glossy, adult leaves lanceolate to broad lanceolate, 8-18cm x 1.8-3.5cm, fruit sessile, crowded, flattened 5-8mm long x 7-12mm dia, disc raised, valves rim level or exserted. South from Port Stephens, east of Pokolbin.
Inflorescences 11 or more flowered
Disc on fruit depressed
Eucalyptus globoidea White Stringybark
Tree to 30m, bark persistent throughout. Adult leaves concolorous or slightly discolorous, Fruit hemispherical with wide aperture, medium to large trees on well watered sandy or alluvial soils. Fruit sessile, globose, valves rim level or slightly exserted, recorded from Sandy Hollow, Murrurundi but generally east of Muswellbrook.
Disc on fruit raised
Eucalyptus agglomerata Blue-leaved Stringybark
Tree to 40m, juvenile leaves broad lanceolate, glossy, adult leaves lanceolate to broad lanceolate 7-14cm x 1.3-3cm, green or grey green, glossy to semi glossy with bluish sheen, 11 or more flowers umbellaster, peduncle flattened or angular, fruits hemispherical or flattened, valves rim level or slightly exserted. Widespread in region, Wet sclerophyll forest.
Eucalyptus sparsifolia Narrow-leaved Stringybark
Small to medium tree or mallee to 20m (4-12 in Mudgee area), juvenile leaves broad lanceolate, glossy, adult leaves narrow lanceolate to lanceolate, 8-12cm x 1-2cm, glossy, peduncle narrowly flattened or angular, 11 or more flowers, sessile or shortly pedicellate, fruits globose, slightly flattened, 5-8mm long x 5-8mm wide. On shallow sandy soils, generally south from Hunter River to Scone and Aberdeen.
Full bark
- Bark medium to long fibres to smaller branches,
- adult leaves concolorous,
- fruit and buds pedicellate
7 or more flowers per umbel.
- Juvenile leaves with stiff hairs (hispid)
Eucalyptus laevopinea Silver-top Stringybark
Tree to 40m, bark persistent to larger branches or throughout Adult leaves dull (9-14 x 1.5-2.5cm) umbellasters 7-11 flowered, peduncle terete, fruit hemispherical 6-10 x 7-12mm., medium to high fertility moister soils, higher altitudes
Eucalyptus prominula Stringybark
Tree to 25m, juvenile leaves broad lanceolate, glossy, adult leaves 7-15 cm x 1.4-3.2 cm, umbellasters 7-11 or more, fruit globose-hemispherical, disk raised or flattened, valves rim level or exserted, 6-7mm long x 7-9mm wide. Bucketty to Putty area
Eucalyptus expressa Wollemi Stringybark
Tree to 40m, juvenile leaves ovate to broad lanceolate, glossy green, moderate cover of stellate hairs, adult leaves pendulous, lanceolate to weakly falcate-falcate, base oblique, 9-16cm long, 1.8-4.8cm wide, glossy green to dark green (sometimes with a purplish tinge to the canopy), often shallowly scalloped. Umbellaster 7-15 flowered (sometimes more). Fruit hemispherical to globose, valves half to twice as long as hypanthium, erect to recurved, south from Denman (Wollemi NP).
Eucalyptus macrorhyncha Red Stringybark
Tree to 30m, bark persistent throughout, grey to red-brown, stringy, adult leaves 9-15cm long, 1.2-2.7cm wide, 7-11 flowered, Fruits in open clusters, distinctly pedicellate – Buds diamond shaped, cap with prominent point, poor sandy or granite soils Goulburn River National Park to Stewarts Brook.
Eucalyptus caliginosa Broad-leaved Stringybark
Tree to 25m, juvenile leaves broad lanceolate, glossy green, adult leaves broad lanceolate, 10-15cm x 2-3cm, 7-11 or more flowers, fruit hemispherical, 6-9mm long x 4-7mm dia. Only collected from Barrington Tops in this region
7 or more flowers per umbel.
- Juvenile leaves without stiff hairs (not hispid)
Eucalyptus umbra Broad-leaved White Mahogany
Tree to 25m, bark persistent throughout, thin, stringy adult leaves 10-14cm long, 2.5-3.5cm wide, umbellasters 7-11 flowered, Fruit ovoid, peduncle narrowly flattened or angular, 10-22mm long. poor, shallow, dry soil. Uncommon, coastal hinterland to about Singleton
Eucalyptus bridgesiana Apple Box
Tree to 20m, juvenile leaves opposite, orbiculate to ovate, glaucous, adult leaves lanceolate 12-20cm long, 1.5-2.5cm wide, green, semi glossy, umbellasters 7 flowered, fruit hemispherical or conical, 5-7mm long x 4-7mm wide, disc raised, valves exserted. In the region generally found on better soils in small stands. Generally west of Scone.
Eucalyptus bridgesiana buds
Eucalyptus bridgesiana fruit.
Eucalyptus bridgesiana leaves.
Eucalyptus bridgesiana trunk.
Eucalyptus carnea Thick-leaved Mahogany
Tree to 30m, juvenile leaves broad lanceolate – falcate, dull, grey green, adult leaves lanceolate or broad lanceolate, 6-18cm x 1.5-4cm, grey green, dull, umbellasters 7-11 flowers, fruit hemispherical, 5-8mm long x 5-9mm dia, disc more or less flat, valves rim level. Coastal hinterland north from Hunter River.
11 or more flowers per umbel,
- juvenile leaves with stiff hairs (hispid)
Eucalyptus sparsifolia Narrow-leaved Stringybark
Small to medium tree or mallee to 20m (4-12 in Mudgee area), juvenile leaves broad lanceolate, glossy, adult leaves narrow lanceolate to lanceolate, 8-12cm x 1-2cm, glossy, peduncle narrowly flattened or angular, 11 or more flowers, sessile or shortly pedicellate, fruits globose, slightly flattened, 5-8mm long x 5-8mm wide. On shallow sandy soils, generally south from Hunter River extending to Scone and Aberdeen.
Eucalyptus conjuncta Murrurundi Stringybark
Tree to 15m, bark persistent, juvenile leaves lanceolate, glossy green, adult leaves lanceolate, adult leaves 9-14cm long, 1.2-2.2cm wide, green, glossy. Valves rim level or exserted, umbellaster 11+ flowered, fruit hemispherical, 4-6 mm long x 6-8mm diameter, calyptera conical as long as and as wide as the hypanthium, , peduncle narrowly flattened or angular. low fertility, shallow sandy soils. Murrurundi district only.
11 or more flowers per umbel
- Juvenile leaves without stiff hairs
Eucalyptus dives Broad-leaved Peppermint (not hispid)
Tree to 20m, bark persistent on trunk and upper branches, juvenile leaves sessile, opposite for many pairs, ovate, cordate, usually glaucous to 15 x 7 cm, adult leaves lanceolate to broad lanceolate, concolorous, slightly glossy green, inflorescences 11+ flowered, peduncle terete or slightly angular to 1.3cm. Buds pedicellate to 6 x 4mm, fruits pedicellate, cupular, hemispherical or obconical 7x7mm, disc more or less level. South from Putty Area, also Nundle.
Eucalyptus obliqua Messmate (not hispid)
Tree usually to 50m, sometimes 90, bark persistent to smaller branches, shortly fibrous to stringy, smooth above shedding in ribbons. Leaves concolorous, juvenile leaves disjunct, ovate to elliptic, glossy green, adult leaves 10-15cm long, 1.5-3.3cm wide, green, glossy. Fruits globose, ovoid or urceolate, generally higher altitude, high rainfall, deep fertile soils. 11 or more flowers. Mt Woolooma, Barrington Tops area.
Eucalyptus obliqua fruit
Eucalyptus obliqua trunk
Eucalyptus radiata Narrow-leaved Peppermint (not hispid)
Tree to 30m (sometimes to 50), juvenile leaves opposite, narrow lanceolate to broad lanceolate, dull green, adult leaves narrow lanceolate or lanceolate, 7-15cm x 0.7-1.5cm wide, green, glossy or semi glossy, Greater than 11 flowers, fruit globose, hemispherical or pyriform, 4-6mm long, 4-6mm dia. North from Nundle and south from Martindale (Wollemi NP).